Reunion
by LaDyFiCtIoN
Summary: Really, how often did they do this – once a year? Why even call it a reunion then. Might as well call it a birthday. Or an anniversary. [Future Yaoi, Yuriy x Boris] Other pairings briefly mentioned


Dedicated to Yami-Jay, who requested a YuBo for Christmas. There will be a chapter 2 - just don't ask when. But it will happen.

It's been so long.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **-=Reunion=-**

Really, how often did they do this – once a year? Why even call it a reunion then. Might as well call it a birthday. Or an anniversary.

And yet the email invite's subject line said "Yearly Reunion 2017" and participants were asked to vote on the time and date.

It was always between Christmas and New Year's, one of the busiest times of the year.

Boris clicked on decline and within sixty seconds, or less most likely, Yuriy sent him an angry response.

"You have to come Boris. I haven't seen you in 3 months now. You're always too busy."

A set of emerald eyes rolled after reading the text message.

It wasn't as if they didn't hang out, perhaps less often now, but they all had different responsibilities and hectic schedules.

"Really, Yuriy. 48 seconds after I declined. You must be glued to your phone."

"Answer the question." There was an emoji of some sort but Boris paid no attention to it.

The digital face was probably the annoyed looking one, a true reflection of the redhead on the other side of the screen.

He waited several minutes to reply, stretching out his break, which would probably piss off his best friend further. If he responded sooner, it would give Yuriy more time to send angry messages and more faces.

Even though Boris hated his answer, he had to send it.

"Work."

Boris imagined Yuriy exploding in anger, in his usual melodramatic fashion and it amused him nonetheless. He probably shouldn't have done that but Yuriy was very understanding. This was unavoidable.

"I don't even know why I bother texting you. You're always working."

That stung. Boris frowned as he typed furiously at the screen, to get his response in on time. It upset him more than he was willing to admit and he did not have much time left before returning to his post, where his cellphone was prohibited.

"Yu, I'm sorry. They really need me. I confirmed weeks ago."

When his only response was a thumb's up emoji, Boris knew that his attempt to apologize had been rejected with passivity.

Yuriy was not wrong though. He **was** always working. Personal security jobs paid extremely well and he worked on call with several agencies to maximize his availabilities. The only life Boris knew was training and working. It paid the bills and left him with a large surplus of savings. He had often tried explaining that to Yuriy but the redhead was terrible at budgeting and anything related to finances. Having a savings fund meant that Boris could take time off when he wanted or needed it. He relied on public transportation and other than the bottle of gin and vodka he kept; his expenses were minimal for he rarely ate out. He actually enjoyed cooking. He kept in touch digitally with all his friends and in the beginning, he did often go out and drink with them but unless it was planned in advance, working hung over could get him seriously reprimanded or even worst, fired.

But now...

Boris found himself mulling over his brief conversation with Yuriy all afternoon. If only he understood how important it was to Boris to feel pride in his work and be respected in the organization. He wanted Yuriy to see his dedication and admire his strengths. Every time they disagreed like that, Boris always felt sullen afterwards. Today was no exception. He kept sighing after his break, to the point of utterly annoying his co-worker.

"Boris, if you sigh one more god damn time, I will strangle you." It was more of a jest than a threat but Boris glared his green eyes back fiercely and scoffed a gruff remark because he was a bit moody.

"Better than your shitty whistling."

The other security guard laughed and began to whistle on purpose but Boris could only smirk –

he had a skill that many people did not possess – he tuned out the high pitched sound completely and went back to his internal brooding like it was nothing.

It would take a lot more than that to annoy him. Like a certain redhead and his passive aggressive emoji face response. He began to dislike the use of emojis. Stupid little expressive caricatures.

But Yuriy was right. He was _always_ right. Boris had not seen Ivan in half a year, not since his friend had gone back to University to start another degree. It had been even longer for Sergei but his friend was a father now and about to be wed to his beautiful fiancé, so he had the most on his plate.

Boris had booked off for the event, of course, months ago, as was expected of him in his line of work. But this…this party… He owed someone a favour and taking a shift that night was to repay said debt of gratitude when that individual covered for him last minute, no questions asked. Those moments did not happen ever for Boris and returning the favour was important to him.

It annoyed him even more because the redhead had no idea that Boris owed his co-worker due to the night that Yuriy called his best friend at 3am, after his latest boyfriend had cheated on him and broke it off. He was there to be the shoulder that Yuriy cried on. So there was no reason for him to throw that in Yuriy's face. He did not regret it and would do it again in a heartbeat if needed.

Still, Boris felt a bit guilty for being angry because the next morning was one that he would never forget.

Even now, three months later, it still made him blush tremendously.

Yuriy had fallen asleep on his shoulder, once he had finally regained his composure and Boris did not want to disturb him by moving him to his bed or waking him up. Eventually, he too succumbed to sleep, despite his seated position. He had no idea how he woke up on his side, with Yuriy in his arms but he did, as if they had slumped over together and the redhead had fallen into his lap. Yuriy had clearly moved, maybe even his sleep or by reflex to get comfortable; regardless, his best friend was pressed into his chest, sleeping soundly.

Boris' heart fluttered and his face flushed as his bleary eyes opened and adjusted to the present scene.

He was surprised that he was even able to utter a soft, "Yuriy" since his mouth was entirely dry. Was he _nervous_? Why was he **so** nervous? Boris was barely able to process his own questioning thoughts because Yuriy stirred ever so slightly and he stiffened immediately.

"Mmm, it's too early. Sleep more." The redhead said in a groggy voice.

But Boris was wide awake now and still not daring to move. "Yuriy, it's me. Boris."

It took a second for Yuriy's lazy sounding reply, "I know. So what. Sleep."

Boris managed to steady his breathing. "Yuriy." Again, he pleaded gently.

"If you keep saying my name like that I might start thinking you like it." Yuriy was laughing as he slowly pulled back from his comfortable position. Blue eyes looked up and he could see that Boris was blushing a shade of crimson darker than he had ever seen before.

"Boris," he echoed teasingly, "you know this isn't the first time we've fallen asleep and cuddled together."

Yuriy propped himself up on one elbow to look at his best friend properly. Boris looked adorable when he was blushing. Yuriy found it incredibly endearing, such a rare sight that probably only he got to witness. It was something that he was very much not used to but appreciated nonetheless. Boris looked utterly uncomfortable and defiant now that his guard was down; Yuriy saw that flicker in those emerald orbs, staring back at him intensely.

"It's not freezing in here."

The redhead frowned slightly. Boris always became too serious though when he was embarrassed or teased. He prodded right back instead of playing along with the jest, which did not surprise Yuriy at all.

"I was kidding, Borya. Can't I tease my best friend?"

Boris rolled his eyes as Yuriy got up and began to stretch.

"C'mon. You look adorable when I embarrass you. Besides, I'm single now. I can flirt with whoever I want."

Even though Yuriy probably did not see but when he walked into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, proudly declaring once again that he was single, Boris was staring at his ass the whole time.

It was not as if the thought had never crossed his mind but Boris had only ever dated women and Yuriy was his best friend. Certain lines should not be crossed, he told himself as his blush faded and heart stopped thumping wildly in his chest. At least, in his mind, that meant Yuriy had always been off limits, even if the notion of dating a man did not bother him in the slightest.

Unlike Yuriy, who was incapable of dating the opposite sex, Boris knew what he was looking for in a partner, regardless of gender. Women and men stood on equal ground for him. He liked things simple and straightforward and despite his lack of communication skills, Boris was truly genuine when he was able to articulate his feelings and find those right words to express himself.

Yuriy seemed to attract the wrong kind of partner and always failed to cut them loose when they hurt him. Boris, on the other hand, was never truly able to open up to anyone and his relationships were short lived, a few months at most. He had not found someone that he truly felt a connection with, or that spark that his friends kept telling him about. There was a one night stand that he actually _''sparked''_ with but she was a traveler, their connection was all about sex, and the deal was to not exchange details about themselves.

By the time his shift ended that evening, Boris was exhausted from contemplating his dilemma and barely remembered to text Yuriy another apology. He received a proper response this time and that set his heart and mind at ease.

"It's okay Boris. I just need to see you. In person. Not a phone call or text."

"I promise, Yu and I always keep my promises."

Boris fell asleep almost instantly after that, hoping that Yuriy knew how genuine he truly was.

It seemed as though Yuriy was just as busy as Boris was with work because they had to reschedule their meeting three times before they could agree to meet the evening after the party. Boris said that he would treat them to a nice dinner and they could go drinking afterwards at Yuriy's favorite bar. Yuriy still tried to convince him though to join them at the party but Boris was adamant that he had to do the night shift. He even told Yuriy that he was doing it as a favour for the debt he owed a colleague.

"You really are amazing Boris. I've never met anyone like you who swears by their word and keeps it like you do."

That text made Boris' day. Their client was beyond annoying and Boris was almost willing to feign illness but his values refused to let him lie to simply leave. Besides, overtime was paid double. His next paycheque would be almost triple his norm and he was definitely due for a vacation. No one needed to tell him that; he could feel it in his mind, the weariness that came from working long hours.

His work ethic was failing him though the morning of the party. He found himself lingering in his doorway and staring at his phone. Several minutes passed as he signed heavily. But after his sense of woe passed, he realized that he would miss his bus and he ran out of his apartment building in a scramble. He spent the whole bus ride miserable with himself for feeling anxious and having to rush like an idiot, even needing to hail down the public transportation to stop for him. Although he arrived on time and settled in for the first portion of his day, there was nothing for him to do and so his mood remained sour. The minutes were agonizingly slow. He stayed off social media on his breaks because he knew that Yuriy would have posted something about his excitement for their gathering and that would only worsen how he felt.

By noon though, Boris had finally resolved to accept his decision and focus on tomorrow, when they would go out just the two of them. It helped his afternoon slip by faster. However, before he left for his hour dinner break, since he was doing a double shift, one of the new security guards arrived, much to the confusion of himself and his co-worker.

"Good evening Mr. Kuznetsov. The officer in command informed me that you were doing a double shift tonight and I hate to ask but I really need hours and so I thought that-"

Boris would never intentionally cut off a colleague but the words fell out of his mouth before even he could process them fully himself.

"YES!"

The younger officer then kept trying to profusely thank him but Boris was already retrieving his coat and belongings from behind their station. He had a very thankful shadow that kept following him around.

"Thank you, thank you sir. Really. I owe you one."

By that point, Boris was signing out and as he caught the tail end of the sentence, he actually laughed out loud.

"No, you don't. And trust me on this one. I would know."

And with that he was gone, dashing out onto the street to hail a cab. He gave his home address and told the driver that if he came back in exactly thirty minutes to pick him up again, he would pay double the fare of both rides. His display of money helped influence the driver as well and Boris headed up to his apartment to shower and change quickly. With only two minutes to share, Boris grabbed his unopened bottle of vodka and decided to bring it as his gift for the host. After all, it was Yuriy's favorite brand and his too.

As he arrived in the lobby of his building, his green eyes could already spot his taxi driver parked out front. He could not help but laugh. Things seemed to be going his way suddenly. The ride across town was long, long enough to let Yuriy know he was coming but he decided not to. It would be worth seeing the look on his face when he opened his apartment door.

As they arrived at his destination, Boris gave the driver a generous tip with his promised payment. In less than two minutes now, he would only be about an hour late. Maybe less. They always ate a meal together first and Boris desperately hoped that they made too much food so he could devour their leftovers as he had forgotten to eat in the rush of leaving early. Only on the ride there had he noticed the rumbles of his empty stomach.

There were butterflies there as well for some reason, which did not help but he held his breath as he knocked on the door and waited to be greeted. He figured Yuriy would cheat and look through the hole to see him and so Boris held up his bottle of vodka and grinned wickedly.

No sooner did the door open was Boris enveloped by Yuriy who looked utterly astonished to see him.

"I'm not a ghost you know."

"I know but I'm hugging you just to make sure."

And then Yuriy dragged him inside. Instantly, Ivan and Sergei were greeting him, as Boris was surprised to see so many other faces as well. Kai and Rei were regulars as he called them but it was rare to see the Japanese and American. What were their names again? Max and...Max was easy to remember. The other was Ta something with a ta...ta...Takao! There. He remembered rather quickly.

Boris shook hands with them next and Yuriy lead them all back into the dining room, where dinner was about to be served. It appeared as though he had arrived just on time. After all the pleasantries, and Yuriy scolding him for not bringing food and only booze, Kai asked how he managed to free himself from work.

Boris laughed, as he answered, "It was a miracle. A new recruit showed up out of the blue and asked if I wanted to give him my night shift because he needed more hours."

"Obviously you didn't say no," Ivan chimed in and everyone laughed too.

Yuriy then drew everyone's attention by raising his glass for a toast.

"Thank you all for coming. I must confess that I did have an ulterior motive for this gathering though. As much as I love Russia and all of you, I was offered a job in New York through my firm and I've accepted. I found out about three months ago that I was being considered and they asked me to prepare myself to move just in case I was selected. I know..." Yuriy sighed as he stared at many shocked faces in the room, "I know I should have said something sooner to some of you...but it's not like I'm leaving tomorrow or anything. I'll be here for another 6 weeks. I just needed some time to settle a lot of my affairs and wait for my passport to arrive."

Boris was utterly stunned, as were many of them originally but that was replaced by congratulations and a flood of questions from the more curious amongst them. They were all ecstatic for him and when they finally toasted to Yuriy's success, Boris downed his first drink in one quick chug. After that, he made himself another and tried to eat, as Yuriy unfurled the whole story of his promotion in more detail but as he continued to listen, he no longer felt very hungry. The second drink went down easy though and he ate enough not to let the alcohol hit him so quickly.

Boris was relatively quiet, which was not unlike him, but now he was absolutely lost in thought. He even forgot to make himself another drink. It astonished him to discover that his best friend was leaving and something about it upset him profoundly. But Boris refused to let any of that show. Tonight was a reunion after all. It was about catching up with the important people in your life.

"Okay, enough questions about my new job. Other people have also done very interesting things lately. Like Sergei here, the new father."

Yuriy was ever the host, trying to deflect the conversation from himself to the other guests. Sergei sent him a tired but pointed look and everyone laughed again at their antics. Sergei shared the experience nonetheless and it seemed that Takao was equally excited because Hiromi was pregnant with a little girl; the Kinomiya family would continue to get bigger very soon.

"Hiromi is due in May. I can't wait to meet my little princess." The proud father said in his excitement.

Rei was instantly texting Hiromi; he could not believe how secretive they managed to be but ever since he moved to Russia, he could only skype with them on occasions. Phone cameras were easy to position too, to hide certain obvious things, like a protruding belly. That would also explain why she did not join Takao this year with their little boy on the trip to Russia.

Ivan shared several anecdotes from his school life and how he enjoyed studying economics, while Max revealed that he had a new girlfriend but things between them were not serious just yet.

Kai and Boris were usually the boring ones, Yuriy would always tease but even Kai had a child that kept him busy, when he wasn't with Rei and his little girl. Boris felt like he and Yuriy were the real boring ones, until now. They were both married to their career choices and utterly single. It was probably better for Yuriy that way though, since he was moving to another continent.

Now, he was the one that felt like his life was a little too empty. He knew that he needed to stop brooding though and proposed another toast to Yuriy, as he poured shots for the table from his bottle of vodka. That led their little party into the dessert course and even Boris indulged in a few of the shortbread cookies that Rei had made. He definitely was not a sweets person though and everything else on the table was slathered in icing.

Afterwards, they agreed upon a social game, something about asking obscene questions and answering them with even more absurd responses for a hilarious combination. Although the game was ridiculous at times, they were all entertained by it. Max brought it over from the States, along with another game that was similar but with stick figures and cartoons.

Only when Boris seen Yuriy pouring himself a drink, in between rounds, did he realize suddenly that these moments would happen less and less, if at all. At least, he surmised miserably, once a year, when it came time to reunite. That thought hit hard when Yuriy brought him a glass too and sat back down beside him on the couch. Boris found himself staring at the redhead and the longer he did, the more his heart ached.

His reverie was interrupted by Sergei, who announced that he was calling it a night. The young father was exhausted and so he called a cab. After their goodbyes were shared, the group decided to play the second game Max brought but it was harder to find the humor in it, as you needed the drawings to match, or else the final panel made no sense to anyone

Boris decided not to participate as it interested him less and Kai joined him in declining. They became the designated bartenders though and found themselves in the kitchen mixing drinks for everyone. Boris actually enjoyed the task, it was a job he had done for a while before settling on security as a trade, but to make bartending lucrative, he would need to go back to school and that did not interest him in the slightest.

While Boris was cutting more lemon wedges for the gin, Kai interrupted his task with a question, out of the blue, "so how are you feeling about Yuriy leaving?"

Boris frowned slightly, as he glanced over to the other Russian, "since when does Kai Hiwatari ask personal questions?"

Kai smirked knowingly, "you're avoiding my question, Kuznetsov. That's very telling. Did I hit a sore spot?"

"I don't remember asking for a psych evaluation. But since clearly Rei's curiosity has rubbed off on you, yea it kinda sucks. So long as Yuriy's happy though, my opinion doesn't matter."

Boris was about to brush past Kai with a few drinks on the tray he grabbed when Kai added simply, "I think it does to him."

Emerald eyes rolled, despite his back being turned to Kai but he scoffed loud enough for the other to hear nonetheless.

What was that about anyways? Now he had something else to think about. Kai never wasted words and that irritated Boris because he knew that his friend had brought it up for a reason. He expected his opinion to matter to Yuriy; they were best friends after all, but the way Kai said it still left him uneasy. It was not like he was going to tell Yuriy to stay on his behalf. He was not a selfish person. If anything, if Yuriy wanted him to go along, he would. He definitely would.

Boris realized then how stupid he had been all along. He was in denial. Obviously, he had unresolved feelings for his best friend that were muddled since they were in fact, best friends. Every part of him wanted Yuriy to be happy and yet he also wanted to continue being a part of what made Yuriy happy. It brought him a sense of pride knowing that when Yuriy needed someone, he turned to Boris. Despite drinking more than he probably should have, Boris finally started to understand his own hazy and unsure feelings. He had hesitated all that time because he did not want to ruin their friendship. The thought of Yuriy leaving though made his heart sink into his stomach and that was something that he could no longer ignore.

After the last round of games, it was close to midnight and Rei complained that he was exhausted and a bit drunk, so Kai called them a cab. Takao and Max decided to join them, as their hotel was along the way. Yuriy made everyone agree to brunch the next day and they all accepted without making any concrete plans; they could text in the morning and organize something then. Ivan asked Boris to share a cab and the Russian agreed, much to the blatant dismay of Yuriy.

"Come on guys, stay for another drink."

"Sorry Yuriy, if you want me to come for brunch, I need some sleep and some time to finish my report in the morning."

"So you stay Borya and I'll pay your cab."

Boris hesitated; he really wanted to stay but they had both consumed a lot of alcohol and he did not trust himself to not drunkenly confess things like an idiot would do. Yuriy was pouting at him though and Boris found him incredibly adorable. He could not help but chuckle a bit, as the redhead had almost convinced him with a simple look.

"You know pouting doesn't work on me, Yu."

That did not stop the redhead from continuing to purse his lips and wiggle his eyebrows.

"Ivan, go down for the cab. I'll be there in a minute. I want to talk to Yuriy alone anyways."

Ivan gave them both an incredulous look; he could tell that there was something between them that he did not understand but did not ask any questions. "Sure, don't be too long or I will leave without you."

Yuriy was surprised by Boris' statement but granted his best friend the odd request. "What's up, Borya?"

"This is probably going to sound stupid Yu and I'm sorry, I'm a bit drunk and I don't want to make an idiot out of myself but here it goes..." Boris sighed deeply and averted his eyes from Yuriy's piercing blue ones. "I'm really bad at expressing myself...but fuck...fuck...I'm just really sad that you're going to be leaving and I feel so selfish telling you that."

"Boris," Yuriy said, unsure of what to say next. He took a moment, as a smile slowly spread out across his lips. "I find it very endearing. You aren't selfish at all. To be honest, if you were the one leaving, I would probably tell you the same thing."

"Yuriy, I...like I said, I'm really bad at these...these types of conversations... and I don't want to make any drunk confessions tonight so I think I should go, Ivan is waiting for me."

"Drunk confessions?" Yuriy echoed, "That wasn't really a drunken confession, Boris. You're my best friend and I'm going to miss you the most." Yuriy found himself chuckling, as his cheeks flushed a bit of a darker shade of red. "A confession would be like if you told me you liked me."

"Yuriy..." Boris' tone wavered. Yuriy was so brazen and unabashed that he was taken aback. The redhead properly looked at him, refusing to let Boris break that connection. He realized then how rosy Boris' cheeks were and how uncomfortable he looked again. Yuriy recognized that expression; had not seen that expression since the last time...

"Boris..." He trailed off, unable to say anything else.

Boris could be brave when he wanted to and in that moment, since he felt tongue tied and mortified all at once, he took a step towards Yuriy and even though the redhead looked utterly vulnerable and completely kissable, Boris only gingerly kissed his best friend's blushing cheek. His lips felt so dry against the smooth and warm flesh and his heart was beating so wildly in his chest that Yuriy's gasp was inaudible to him.

As soon as Boris tried to step back though and flee the apartment, embarrassed beyond all belief, he felt Yuriy hug him and the redhead buried his face into Boris' neck.

"Don't leave, Borya."

Boris' heart did not stop its erratic beating, even if the embrace helped calm him down. He somehow managed to chuckle as his brain had provided him with a funny remark, "did I not say that to you just a few seconds ago?"

Yuriy hugged him even tighter. "No, you said that me leaving makes you sad."

"I guess I forgot to then."

"Borya...I want to go though." Yuriy returned the soft kiss by placing one gingerly on his jawline. This time, he tried to move back but Boris did not let him.

"I know, Yu. I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I know too. I guess we really do need to talk then."

Boris had nothing left to say though. At least, not now. His heart and mind were still reeling and he knew that he should go.

"We have 6 weeks, ri-" Boris tried to say without wavering but Yuriy silenced him with a real kiss. It was so soft and brief and fleeting, lasting only seconds but it was powerful enough to make them both realize the impact of the gesture; they were both flustered and unsure of how to proceed.

"Let's talk more tomorrow, okay? We still on for dinner?"

Yuriy had moved back, untangling his arms from around Boris, who was now ready to face his best friend. Even the redhead was self-conscious and awkwardly shuffling; despite how easily words came to him than they did to Boris. The taller Russian could only nod, left completely and utterly speechless. He did not trust his mouth anyway to utter anything competent. Instead, he felt compelled to kiss Yuriy again, as if the last one was not real and did not happen. He found himself hesitating though but Yuriy smiling at him, brought great relief to his anxiety, "now go, before Ivan starts to wonder what's really going on."

Boris just smiled instead and unbeknownst to himself, Yuriy found him incredibly handsome in that moment. They did not need to speak anymore; their actions were more than enough. Yuriy watched as Boris opened the door and glanced back, offering a quick goodbye, "Goodnight, Yu."

"Goodnight, Borya."

 **-=EndE=-**


End file.
